Lufthansa Cargo is gearing up to launch narrowbody services using converted Airbus A321s in the coming weeks. The German flag carrier's airfreight division will bring the twinjets onto the scene in mid-March, with customers able to make bookings from the start of the month. It has chosen Dublin, Ireland as the type's first destination.

Entering the narrowbody market

Lufthansa Cargo made waves in the world of commercial airfreight earlier this afternoon when it announced the start date for its use of the Airbus A321. It will deploy these converted twinjets on its medium-haul network, with services beginning on March 15th. Lufthansa Cargo has already completed the conversion of one such aircraft, which bears the registration D-AEUC.

The carrier's intention with these repurposed planes is to "gradually complement the global route network" by utilizing them on routes closer to home. The type's first flight from Frankfurt will serve Dublin, with other targeted destinations including Istanbul, Malta, Manchester, Tel Aviv, and Tunis. Initially, it will serve these two/three times a week. Ashwin Bhat, Lufthansa Cargo's CCO, stated that:

"With the added medium-haul freighters, we are opening up a whole new strategic business segment. In the future, the A321F will offer attractive same-day and eCommerce solutions within Europe and to selected medium-haul destinations, and the new network represents a major step towards the fast-growing eCommerce segment."

20220126_D-AEUC_Cardinal_SIN_ST-Engeneering_6_16_9
A look at the interior of the aircraft, which has a 28-ton payload. Photo: Lufthansa Cargo

Summer expansion

Lufthansa Cargo will open up bookings onto the A321 for its customers two weeks in advance of its launch, on March 1st. It also plans to end the month in a notable fashion, with the addition of an extra route to Cairo International Airport (CAI). This will commence on March 29th, just after the start of the IATA summer schedule.

The summer season also looks set to represent a period of expansion at Lufthansa Cargo in terms of its fleet. Indeed, the airline noted in a corresponding statement that "the second medium-haul freighter is expected to enter service in late summer." It adds that "both will be operated under a wet lease agreement by Lufthansa CityLine, each under Lufthansa Cargo flight numbers."

Lufthansa hopes that the addition of the A321 to its fleet will allow it to increase the efficiency of its cargo operations. A key aspect of this will be the "fast loading and unloading" offered by the type, which the German flag carrier asserts is "one of the most versatile aircraft in its class." It can carry a total payload of 28 tons, spread across 14 pallets on the main deck and 10 in the lower deck.

Lufthansa A321P2F Map
The aircraft's most recent flight took it from Larnaca to Munich. Image: FlightRadar24.com

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The aircraft in question

As established earlier, the registration of Lufthansa Cargo's first converted Airbus A321 is D-AEUC. According to data from ch-aviation.com, this twinjet is 13.85 years old, having entered service with Niki in May 2008. More recently, it spent a year flying for Eurowings, with this period lasting from February 2019 to February 2020.

In order to be converted for use as a freighter, D-AEUC traveled to Singapore's often-forgotten second airport: Seletar (XSP). According to data from FlightRadar24.com, it spent seven months there, from June 2021 to January 2022. It returned to Munich on January 29th and 30th via Colombo, Muscat, and Larnaca.

What do you make of this upcoming launch? Are you excited at the prospect of the A321P2F entering service with Lufthansa Cargo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.